Beacon Hill News

Oliver Suspends Campaign for Lieutenant Governor

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By Katie Castellani

Shawn Oliver, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, has suspended his campaign hours after he was arrested on a charge of operating under the influence late Saturday night. “After careful reflection, I have made the decision to suspend my campaign for lieutenant governor,” Oliver, a New Bedford City Councilor, said in a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon. “This election is too important to be overshadowed by personal matters. I want to sincerely thank everyone who has supported me throughout this journey and ask that my family’s privacy be respected during this difficult time.”

A few hours earlier, Mike Minogue, GOP gubernatorial candidate and Oliver’s running mate, called on Oliver to suspend his campaign. “I am extremely disappointed,” Minogue said in a statement released at approximately 11:30 a.m. “Shawn is lucky to be alive and lucky that no one innocent was hurt.

Haverhill

Former Holy Family Hospitals Show Improved Profitability in Report

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Hospitals Financials Improved Ahead of ‘Most Disruptive Wave’
By Alison Kuznitz

The former Holy Family Hospital and its new parent, Merrimack Health, showed improved profitability during the last fiscal year. It was among a majority of Massachusetts hospitals that boosted their profitability, but a trade group offered a cautionary note this week due to federal policy changes that could upend the gains. According to the state Center for Health Information and Analysis—or CHIA, the former Holy Family Hospital posted the highest acute hospital total margin of 27.4%. Merrimack Health, the rebranded system encompassing Lawrence General Hospital and Holy Family Hospital’s campuses in Haverhill and Methuen, had the highest total margin—11.5%—among multi-acute health systems. Holy Family Hospital was salvaged amid the Steward Health Care bankruptcy crisis. CHIA noted both entities “received state funding and one-time revenues related to Merrimack Health’s acquisition of Holy Family Hospital.”

The report also captured how much money hospitals are pouring into the use of temporary workers, a sore point for nurses who have gone on strike or are preparing to walk off the job as they push for higher wages.

Beacon Hill News

Trahan, Finegold Push AI Oversight Amid ‘Intense’ Industry Lobbying

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Congress And Beacon Hill Both Debating Guardrails at AI ‘Tipping Point’
By Ella Adams

The last few weeks have been “a tipping point” in the world of artificial intelligence, U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan said Tuesday as warnings mount in Massachusetts and lawmakers juggle various viewpoints in the midst of regulatory negotiations. “We should be in Washington right now. We should not be on a seven-week hiatus reconvening after the election,” Trahan said of Congress. “The imminent risks that have been posed by artificial intelligence just these last few weeks are cause for, you know, a national conversation around guardrails.”

Following recent AI security incidents, “the conversation has just completely changed in Washington. It is on us to keep that momentum up during these seven weeks while we’re home, but then also post-election, using November and December to pass these safety guardrails,” she said, sitting next to Sen. Barry Finegold in his State House office.

Beacon Hill News

Lawmakers Move To Honor Dolly Parton with ‘9 to 5 Day’

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By Ella Adams

Massachusetts lawmakers are seeking to designate Sept. 25 as “9 to 5 Day” in honor of American icon Dolly Parton under a bill filed Thursday by Provincetown Sen. Julian Cyr and Boston Rep. Sam Montaño. Parton, a country music legend and philanthropist, died Aug. 25 at the age of 80 in Nashville, Tenn. The lawmakers said the bill follows the lead of counterparts in Tennessee who recently introduced a bill to designate Sept.

Beacon Hill News

Don’t Mail It Now, Galvin Tells Voters as Primary Turnout Climbs

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Secretary Projects Roughly 800,000 Democratic and 280,000 Republican Ballots
By Sam Drysdale

Massachusetts will see higher turnout in next Tuesday’s primary elections than it did in 2022, Secretary of State William Galvin predicted Thursday while urging voters who have not yet returned their mail-in ballots to avoid putting them in the mail and instead vote in person or use a drop box. Speaking at a press conference in the State Library, Galvin said 2026 turnout is difficult to project because voting habits have changed significantly since the last midterm primary. More voters now favor voting by mail or early and in person, he said, making comparisons with 2022 less precise. Still, early numbers point upward. As of Thursday morning, the state received about 364,000 Democratic ballots through early in-person voting and vote by mail, along with about 73,000 Republican ballots, Galvin’s office said.

Region

Methuen Rep. Paulino Pleads Not Guilty, Due Back in Court Oct. 7

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By Ella Adams

Methuen Rep. Francisco Paulino was arraigned in federal court Wednesday afternoon, where he pleaded not guilty to all 11 counts brought against him for pandemic benefit fraud. Paulino faces eight counts of wire fraud and three counts of unlawful monetary transactions. He was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury, arrested Wednesday morning in Lawrence and arraigned Wednesday afternoon at Moakley Courthouse in Boston. A federal public defender stood beside Paulino in court Wednesday, Judge David Hennessy notes, since the second-term Democrat’s counsel is based in Washington, D.C. The defense attorney listed on Paulino’s indictment could not immediately be reached Wednesday and did not respond to a request for comment. Hennessy presided, but said that it would be “Cabell’s case,” referencing U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell.

Region

Feds Indict, Arrest Methuen Rep. Paulino on Pandemic Aid Fraud Charges

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By Colin A. Young

Rep. Francisco Paulino of Methuen was indicted and arrested Tuesday on federal charges alleging pandemic benefit fraud. The second-term Democrat is accused of filing a pandemic unemployment benefits claim for an elderly relative without their knowledge, routing the funds to a bank account held solely in his own name and later submitting fabricated documents when the state Department of Unemployment Assistance inquired. He is also accused of fraudulently obtaining economic injury disaster loans for two of his businesses and also in the name of a person referred to as a client of Paulino’s. The federal indictment, which prosecutors plan to detail further at a press conference today at the Moakley Courthouse in the Seaport, alleges that Paulino’s illegal conduct took place from roughly April 2020 through at least December 2021. That time frame includes the November 2021 election in which Paulino was elected to represent the 16th Essex District.

Beacon Hill News

Cheers Drown Out Healey as She Signs Immigrant Protection Bill

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Governor Says Massachusetts is ‘Standing Up for What’s Right’ As Republicans Argue It Undermines Cooperation with Federal Authorities
By Katie Castellani

It was hard to tell whether Gov. Maura Healey hosted a party or bill signing ceremony when she signed legislation Wednesday that the governor and lawmakers say provides the strongest immigrant protections in the country. The new law, known as the PROTECT Act, arose as a top priority for lawmakers and the governor amid intensified immigration law enforcement efforts led by President Donald Trump. The law expands protections against warrantless civil immigration arrests at courthouses as well as public schools, childcare centers and healthcare facilities. “I think we can agree that we need immigration reform in this country. We can agree we need controls at the border.